Philippine economy expands 7 percent in 3Q

Thursday

Nov 28, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 28, 2013 at 5:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine economy expanded 7 percent in the third quarter, but growth is expected to slow because of devastation from the super typhoon that hit eastern and central regions earlier this month.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine economy expanded 7 percent in the third quarter, but growth is expected to slow because of devastation from the super typhoon that hit eastern and central regions earlier this month.

Statistics agency chief Jose Ramon Albert said Thursday that growth in the latest quarter was driven by services and industry.

He said agriculture made the smallest contribution to third quarter GDP due to the effects of 10 storms in the July-September period.

Growth for the first nine months of the year was 7.4 percent, making the Philippines one of the world's fastest growing economies.

The government earlier lowered this year's growth forecast to a range of 6.5 to 7 percent from 7.3 percent to reflect damage to agriculture and industry from Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 5,500 people.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said it was the fifth straight quarter of 7 percent or higher growth since President Benigno Aquino took office in 2010 with promises to reduce poverty and root out endemic corruption in government.

"This solid growth demonstrates the continuing resilience of the economy in the face of global economic challenges and natural calamities," he said in a statement.

Purisima said growth has been supported by investment, which rose by 15.6 percent.

"This, plus a structural current account surplus, well-managed fiscal position and strong governance agenda gives us optimism for the future," he said.

He said a key priority for government is mitigating the effects of climate change by modifying infrastructure location and design as well as drawing up a framework to better deal with the financial costs of its impact. Agriculture also needs to be less disaster-prone through sustainable insurance products, he said without elaborating.

Quoting the World Bank, Purisima said 0.8 percent of gross domestic product is lost to natural calamities in the Philippines. In October, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake caused widespread damaged and killed more than 200 people in central Bohol province and nearby islands, which include popular tourist spots.

Purisima appealed to the global community to craft a risk-sharing mechanism that extends beyond aid and grants.